Introduction
WoCQI (World Coal Quality
Inventory) News, issue number 4 is unlike previous issues in that it is only
accessible on the WoCQI website. In addition to project news, issue number 4
features information from the CD-ROM Open-File Report on the People’s Republic
of China published in 2001. The section of the newsletter previously showing
the status of coal sample collection and analysis by country has been replaced
by an interactive graphical representation of the world. Accessible from this newsletter or on the
website, the image allows you to click on the country of your choice or choose
from an alphabetized list and see the country’s updated status.
Coal Quality: Global Priorities Conference
Although the
U.S. suffered a terrible tragedy on September 11, 2001, the “Coal Quality:
Global Priorities” conference was still held from September 24-26 at the USGS
in Reston, Virginia. Oral
presentations, a poster session, break out sessions on critical coal topics,
and short courses comprised the highly successfully meeting. More than 140 attendees from 18 countries
contributed to the discussions. The
oral and poster contributions presented at the conference are currently being
edited into a USGS Circular for publication on a CD-ROM later this year.
Approximately three-fourths of the manuscripts have been submitted to the
editor and are in review. If you made a
presentation at the meeting and would like your manuscript included in the
Circular, please contact Brenda Pierce (bpierce@usgs.gov). Everyone who attended the meeting will
receive a copy of the USGS Circular once it is published.
Featured Story: China
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
produced a Geographic Information System (GIS) publication that contains
information on regional geology, coal geology, hydrology, infrastructure, and
human health issues for the People’s Republic of China. The CD-ROM (USGS Open-File Report 01-318) was compiled by Alex W. Karlsen, Adam C. Schultz, Peter D. Warwick, Steven M. Podwysocki,
and Vivian S. Lovern and was distributed to attendees of the WoCQI conference in September, 2001.
The GIS project allows users to
integrate various types of data. Regional geology, coal basins and deposits or
coal mines can be viewed along with infrastructure such as rail lines and roads
utilizing Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) ArcView or Arc
Explorer software. Figure 1 shows over 450 coal fields ranging in rank from
lignite to anthracite with attendant mine production using data from the
CD-ROM.
In order
to help assess and analyze coal quality and risks to human health in the
People’s Republic of China, data from “The Atlas of Endemic Diseases and their
Environments in the People’s Republic of China” were digitized. Polygonal coverages of the percent
prevalence rates of endemic fluorosis in the population and high fluorine
pollution sources were created. The high fluorine pollution sources include
deep and shallow groundwater, hot springs, high-fluoride tea leaves, and fluoride-rich rock, as well
as combustion of high-fluorine content coal. These pollution sources are shown
in Figure 2.
Although the CD-ROM does not contain the coal analytical data
generated by the WoCQI project, these data will be available in the future. USGS Open-File Report 01-318 supercedes USGS
Open-File Report 00-047, “Coal-bearing regions and structural sedimentary
basins of China and adjacent areas” by S.M. Podwysocki and V.S. Lovern.
For
further information on the CD-ROM publication, contact Alex Karlsen (akarlsen@usgs.gov) or Peter Warwick (pwarwick@usgs.gov).